Revisiting Irish Research

Irish Landscape, County Kerry, Ireland - photo by author

After a lovely time visiting the beautiful countryside of Ireland, I am still catching up. Since I have been pondering all things Irish, I thought we’d revisit Irish resources for our family history. I’ve compiled excerpts from past blogs which included Irish Research. I hope you enjoy this look into that past and you will be reminded of the many resources we now have to find our Irish roots. Enjoy!

Irish Genealogy Links
Ireland.com  Whether you are just getting started or have been researching your Irish ancestors for some time, you will find the links on this page of Ireland.com to be helpful.  It provides a brief description of the sites and the records available.  Here are a couple of the areas referenced.  These happen to reside on the Irish Genealogy site.
Church Records
Civil Records
 
Ask About Ireland  has a nice search database for Griffiths Valuation Records.
 
There are paid sites including the Irish Family History Centre, Irish Ancestors,  Ancestry and Find My Past and others.  Places like Family Search (free) have Irish records for free. They can be very useful and provide access to online information and records, but you do need to do your research in the United States and Canada before you leap across the pond.  Even with a county location, it can still be challenging to locate your ancestor’s home village.  Mine usually used the broad stroke of “Ireland” when noting where they came from! Oh, for a little more detail!  If you do know your county in Ireland, there are now sites that are focused on the country resources in Ireland. I’m sharing these sites to provide you with ideas to get started but you will need to use your own discretion to determine if you want to pay for or use these sites.
 
In addition to his site, Irish Ancestors and his book, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: The Complete Guide 4th Edition, John Grenham has a weekly blog that you might find interesting located here.
 
Ancestry.com recently added Irish Dog Licenses!  While you might wonder the value of this, it covers some years that are not available through census records.  This collection covers the years 1810-1926 of dog license records with owners across Ireland.   It includes where the license was purchased and the price, where the owner lived as well as the sex, color, and type of dog.  There were many “S.D.s” listed under type which puzzled me until I thought…ah Sheep Dog!  It provides a little snippet into your ancestor’s lives.  So, if you have an Ancestry membership, check it out!
 
I’ve shared information about the EPIC – The Irish Immigration Museum in the past.  They recently sent a reminder about their tips on starting your family tree research.  You’ll find information here to download a free Family Tree Pack.  They also shared this link to watch world renowned Irish fiddle player Colm Mac Ion Iomaire performing an entire concert from his living room…in case you need a break from all of the news.
 
Irish Archives Portal
This site links you to archival collections throughout Ireland.  You won’t necessarily find an online resources, but it will tell you what Irish Archives the information resides in.  However, it’s a great way to be aware of resources that we might not have been aware existed as they are tucked in an archive, not digitized.
FamilyTreeMagazine.com has many articles on Irish research.  Some are free and others require a premium membership to access the article. 
National Archives of Ireland
According to this site you can now access the following records online: “the Census Records for 1901 and 1911, Census survivals for 1821-51, Census Search forms for 1841-51, the Tithe Applotment Books from 1823 to 1837, the Soldiers’ Wills from 1914 to 1917, and the Calendars of Wills and Administrations from 1858 to 1922.”
FamilySearch Wiki
There are many resources and links on FamilySearch Wiki to help you further your Irish research including these two main pages of resources for:
Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
 
Look at land records. Griffith’s valuation in Ireland has been a valuable resource, but did you know that after the primary valuation was carried out, there were subsequent valuations? These books are referred to as the Revision Books (sometimes Cancelled Books) because the information recorded was updated as land changed hands or acreage changed.  According to Gleeson, these records are available via PRONI for the six counties of Northern Ireland. (https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/search-archives-online/valuation-revision-books) Others can be found in the Valuation Office.
Here are a few more online resources for land records including digital images of the actual Griffith’s Valuation for several counties.
National Archives publishes Valuation Office Books covering 1824 to 1856
Griffith’s Valuation
Irish Deeds Index Project
Ancestry, Family Search, Find Your Roots, and other sites are adding more and more Irish records.  For those not able to travel, these are valuable tools as you look for ways to tell your family story.  The resources shared today are from the magazine referenced in the beginning and are a very small portion of the great information included there.
Irish Genealogy
ROOTSIRELAND.ie
Irish Genealogy Resources
Find My Past
From-Ireland.net
 
I have been reviewing genealogy records from my Irish ancestors and was reminded of this interesting site:  dúchas.ie (duchas.ie) which features Irish School Records. These records are not quite what you’d expect. Let’s look.
 
According to the site, The Irish School Records “is a collection of folklore compiled by schoolchildren in Ireland in the 1930s.” They are not records of report cards or attendance but much more fun with stories that these children knew of from family and friends.
 
I found this resource that is well worth investigating.  It’s called Tracing Your Ancestors Irish Research – a Practical Guide by Dr. Maurice Gleeson MB.  This magazine is a publication from the Publishers of Your Genealogy Today, Internet Genealogy & History Magazine and was published this summer.  If you go to the publisher’s site, you can order back issues including others such as the Scottish Ancestors and Germanic Ancestors.
Have fun revisiting your Irish roots and resources!

“May your day be touched by a bit of Irish luck, brightened by a song in your heart and warmed by the smiles of the people you love.”
 Irish Saying